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One of the most common concerns of parents and teachers of gifted children is perfectionism. Gifted children often have nearly impossibly high expectations of themselves in academic and other settings, causing high levels of anxiety.1 There are several ways in which perfectionism may manifest in children and many strategies for parents and teachers to help their students.
Healthy and Unhealthy Perfectionism
Although perfectionism can be a frustrating and overwhelming experience for parents and teachers, it can also have positive benefits for students. Perfectionism can be classified as healthy or unhealthy.2 Although unhealthy perfectionism can be associated with stress, unyielding expectations, risk avoidance, and procrastination, healthy perfectionism is associated with high levels of achievement and dedication to academic performance. Students who exhibit healthy perfectionism have high expectations for their work, high levels of motivation to complete tasks, and high self-confidence in their abilities to reach those goals. Therefore, it is the aim of interventions to help children transition from unhealthy to healthy perfectionism.
It is important to note that unhealthy perfectionism has been associated with depression and anxiety disorders, greater levels of violence and substance abuse, and eating disorders.3 This topic is complex and outside of the scope of this article, but when serious concerns about a child's mental health arise, it is imperative to seek help from a mental health professional. You can find local mental health professionals using the American Psychology Association (APA) Psychologist Locator at https://locator.apa.org, or by contacting your health insurance to locate a provider.
Perfectionism and Gifted Children
Although perfectionism, both healthy and unhealthy, affects many populations (notably athletes, musicians, and performers), it poses special concerns for gifted students. Facing unchallenging schoolwork, many gifted children have been able to achieve perfect (or near-perfect) scores on assignments with relatively little effort. The expectation of mistake-free achievement often becomes reinforced by teachers, parents, and even peer groups. Thus, it is the high ability and achievement of gifted students that puts them at particular risk for perfectionism.
What Does Perfectionism Look Like?
Most people are familiar with "overachieving" (or high-achieving) perfectionism, but perfectionism may also manifest itself as procrastination or risk-avoidance. Although these are presented as separate profiles, many gifted children fit...